It has to come eventually I suppose and as the saying goes, all good things come to an end at some point. But the day when a Norwich City teamsheet doesn't contain a certain D Huckerby on a regular basis will be a sad one indeed.
Whilst supporters' concerns that he has played his last game for City seem a little premature, there is no doubt that this latest injury setback is a worry.
His recurring hip problem, which first came to light in the summer, is obviously proving difficult to shift and he revealed as much in an interview back in August when making a tentative return to action for the reserves.
Hucks would be the first to admit that he hasn't been at his best this year, or anywhere near it for that matter, but I hope and pray he can still go out with a bang, rather than a whimper.
The former Coventry and Manchester City man has been too good and too important to the Canaries during his four years with the club to just fade away.
His legendary status amongst City supporters has long been assured but Huckerby himself has admitted he wants to bow out at the top.
This makes the possibility that he could retire at the end of this season ? if his hip problem continues ? a very real one.
Hucks will not fancy being a bit-part player, that's simply not his style. He enjoys being the star man, the crowd pleaser and the fans' favourite. That's part of the reason he holds Norfolk so close to his heart; he feels loved here.
But unfortunately, on current form, he does not warrant a place in the starting line-up. To be fair to him, it was a bad day at the office all round in the dismal cup replay defeat at Bury, but Huckerby looked a shadow of his former self that night.
There was no spark, he seems to have lost a yard of pace and it's clear for all to see that this ongoing hip problem is the culprit.
City boss Glenn Roeder admitted that it had been troubling him 'for a few weeks now' and hoped that an injection would cure the problem.
Would this just be a quick fix though? One way or another, something isn't right but if City are to push their way into the safer waters of mid-table sooner rather than later, then a fully-fit Darren Huckerby would be a massive boost.
Despite a quiet season – by his standards – this time around, Roeder is all too aware that Huckerby can still be a match-winner at this level.
He is one of the only players in the current squad who strikes fear into the opposition and the Barclay still expect when he runs with the ball in the final third.
Here's hoping he can rediscover his old form before it's too late and even if this campaign does turn out to be his last at Carrow Road, it would be fitting for Hucks to go out on a high.
Let's face it, he was the catalyst for the Canaries' title-winning season in 2003/04 and for that reason alone, he will go down as a Norwich City great.
This particular love story deserves a happy ending.
Did anyone see Michael Spillane's sending-off for the second-string on Monday night? Two words ? absolute joke.
All of a sudden, we are seeing a flurry of red cards at all levels for what would normally be judged as a good challenge.
In Spillane's case, even though he did go in with both feet, he won the ball fair and square.
The player was not hurt, he got up straight away but before any of this was taken into consideration, the young Irish defender was already running the water for his early bath.
Whilst I understand that there is sometimes a very fine line between winning the ball fairly and a dangerous challenge, it seems to have become fashionable for referees to be dishing out reds left right and centre.
I won't go down the whole 'football isn't a man's game nowadays, unlike rugby blah blah blah' road but in all seriousness, it's getting that way.
You could almost understand if it happened in a big, local derby or a top-of-the-table clash because passionate supporters and a white-hot atmosphere can have an influence on these things.
But this was a reserve game in front of a few hundred spectators and the whole thing stunk of yet another referee trying to make a name for himself.
Something has got to change because, quite simply, I'm fed up of tuning into Sky Sports News and hearing them blurt on about referees the whole time. It's boring.
Rant over.
Leave a Reply